Labor Day

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy - and the man he later becomes - looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single, long, hot, life-altering weekend.

I am the one who fell for buying a book entitled Labor Day to listen to on a long Labor Day Weekend drive.

The book is depressing, slow, and not at all realistic in its depiction of 13 year-old boys. I finally turned it off to avoid getting so down that I'd drive myself into a tree! I didn't finish it, but will probably never forget how it cast a cloud over Labor Day 2009.

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is a powerful saga of three generations of women, plagued by hardships and torn by a devastating secret, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of family. Fifteen-year-old Mosey Slocumb-spirited, sassy, and on the cusp of womanhood-is shaken when a small grave is unearthed in the backyard, and determined to figure out why it's there. Liza, her stroke-ravaged mother, is haunted by choices she made as a teenager. But it is Jenny, Mosey's strong and big-hearted grandmother....

What made the experience of listening to A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty the most enjoyable?

It has been a long time since I've listened to a book that had me devising ways to get a little more time in the car just so I could hear the next chapter. I love the way Ms. Jackson reveals that (surprise!) even a lower middle class Mississippi woman can see the world through a multi-layered array of observations and emotion.

What does Joshilyn Jackson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joshilyn Jackson is superb, especially when reading the thoughts of Big. Her girlish voice sounds vulnerable, but reveals a woman who is surprisingly strong and witty. No one but the author could really understand the nuances intended for her characters.

The Fixer Upper

After a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left almost broke, unemployed, and homeless. She reluctantly accepts to refurbish Birdsong, the old family place in Guthrie, Georgia. But, oh, is Dempsey in for a surprise. "Bird Droppings" would more aptly describe the moldering Pepto Bismol - pink dump. There's also a murderously grumpy old lady who has claimed squatter's rights and isn't moving out. Ever.

What made the experience of listening to The Fixer Upper the most enjoyable?

I happened to see this title in a book catalog and thought I'd check Audible to see if it was available. Expecting a fluffy, light read, I was happily surprised to find the book was set in middle Georgia, right where I live. To be honest, my enjoyment of the story was centered mostly around trying to figure out exactly where the story was set-- Barnesville or Zebulon-- or a fabrication set somewhere in between. Most of the references were spot on, but others were not realistic. Like stating that the local Walmart had gone out of business. Come on, once we get one, the only thing that's going to happen is building a bigger one!

What did you like best about this story?

This is purely chic lit for the lightweight listener, but there are times when all of us would like to take a brain vacation.

Would you be willing to try another one of Isabel Keating’s performances?

Isabel Keating does just one redneck old lady voice and it sounds a lot like Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies. She mis-pronounces Piggly Wiggly as Pig-gel-ly Wig-gel-ly. Some of the other accents grate on your nerves. I'd rather she didn't try to do the accents at all if she can't get them right, but I must admit that she is not so annoying as to make me stop listening.

Any additional comments?

This was a fun book to listen to driving back and forth to work. In fact, I've listened to several other Mary Kay Andrews books since this one, mainly to enjoy the Southern locales that are the focus of all her novels.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Miss Pettigrew is a down-on-her-luck, middle-aged governess sent by her employment agency to work for a nightclub singer rather than a household of unruly children. Over a period of 24 hours, as she becomes caught up in the life of Delysia LaFloss, her own life is changed - forever. This charming, funny, light-hearted 1938 novel was a bestseller on its first appearance. Read by Academy Award winning actress Frances McDormand, who stars in the 2008 film as Miss Pettigrew.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book and one of the best narrations I've ever heard. I think that I possibly enjoyed it more from having seen the movie first-- an odd twist. You will not be disappointed!

Cleaving: Advance First Chapter

Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she'd ever do - until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, Cleaving. Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery.

I happen to love it when an author reads their own work. I'm not sure how interesting a whole book on butchery will be, but the first chapter certainly had my attention. I love the dance of human interaction and getting to see what someone else is really thinking. Julie Powell gives us that, and I appreciate it.

More Information Than You Require

Welcome to the paperless (or "audiobook") edition of More Information Than You Require, a further compendium of COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE assembled and illumined by John Hodgman, a Famous Minor Television Personality. It contains all of the half-truths, fake trivia, amazing made-up facts, and molemanic lore as the paper edition, narrated here by Resident Expert John Hodgman, occasionally interrupted by this veritable extravaganza of illustrious and sometimes presumptuous guests.

I feel it my public duty to warn others not to waste a credit on this mess. I can't say it any better than the reviewer from NC on 11/11/09: "sophomoric, repetitive, self indulgent prattle". I suspect that the earlier superlative reviews were planted.

Why we think it’s a great listen: The most celebrated performance in all of Audible’s history, The Help has nearly 2,000 5-star reviews from your fellow listeners. We hear the print book’s not bad, either. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another.

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